Chinese Captain Pleads Guilty To Throwing Tanzanian Stowaways Into Shark-Infested Ocean
A Chinese captain of a cargo ship has plead guilty to attempted murder after he and his six crew members threw two Tanzanian stowaways into the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean.
Officials says that the captain, identified as Cui Rongli, and his men, Lin Xinyong, Zou Yongxian, Tan Yian, Xie Wenbin, Xu Kun and Mu Yong, all plead guilty to attempted murder after throwing stowaways, Amiri Salamu, 20, and Hassani Rajabu, 30, off their ship out of fear of catching coronavirus.
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The captain and his crew reportedly assembled a flimsy raft out of plywood, plastic drums and rope and gave the two stowaways a bottle of water each and a life jacket, telling them to use their hands as paddles in the waters infested with great whites, hammerheads, tiger and bull sharks.
Fortunately, the two stowaways washed up on the Zinkwazi Beach, near Durban, three days later and were greeted by horrified locals who sent them to the hospital for hypothermia, thirst and hunger.
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Upon docking at Richards Bay, the African Maritime Safety Agency impounded the MV Top Grace ship, and arrested its captain and crew. Rongli was fined $5,000 and each of his crew, $2.500.